Pros
-Big Mutual companay managed conservatively protects company from many economic woes others face. -Workers, people who actually do work, are "salt of the earth" who I'm proud to team up with to get work done in spite of. -IF you get a good manager can be a good place to work with growth opportunities. -One of the rare companies that really does cares about its customers, so long as they are profitable. -If you can live with the cons there are an unlimited number of positions so could work an entire career at same company while still having very diverse experience and expertise. -Senior management seems to actually believe they try and make it a good place to work (see first Con).
Cons
-Big Company in small town allows managment to live in a fantasy world. -Politics can cost you your job, or permanently damage your reputation. -100% top down management, absolutely no meaningful means of feedback on bad managers available (risk free). -There are only two classes of employees, privledged (actually get to use benefits as described) and restricted (those that are overly scrutinized regardless of the quality of their work). -Their idea of flextime is from the twilight zone. You get to choose when you punch the clock, but punch the clock you do. -No balance in work life (not work/life, worklife). If work 70 hrs a week for a month, you are entitled to nothing to rest up and nothing is given. Accept a privledged few where it is practiced under the table. -Care more about how long you have worked there than the quality of work. Example: no short term disability, but if have 6 years seniority have 120 sick days so don't need it. If in between and get sick, you face bankruptcy. -Are in the midst of workforce changes pushing people into roles they don't have skills for and majority are overworked to the point of making fatigue errors regularly. See previous point.- Major illness treated like employee is at fault. Like someone would choose Chemo over having to go to work. -Allow remote workers but don't support it for those who have skills and physical need, only those with tenure and connections. -Majority of workers are lifers who, because of big company in small town don't know how much better it is elsewhere. -Can have decades of skills in an area that go unused (becoming un-markatable within or without) while they will force unwanted roles and reskilling upon those who don't need it, just moved to right position based on experience. -Held to requirements of role definitions to the letter even when circumstances require time to aclimate and develop new skills. -First line management has no expertise in technologies they manage. -Guilt is a ruitine management technique. -Still managing in the dark ages of focusing management energy on strengthening employee's weaknesses instead of leveraging their strengths. As minimal the research is required to quantify how tremendous the benefits are of leveraging strengths and augmenting weaknesses they still spend years working on each employees weakest traits instead of leveraging their strongest. -Communication is a lost skill. Large body of employees do not posses fundamental communication skills causing delays, errors, and a lot of re-work. -Process valued over end result.